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St. Landry Parish school board approves moving some Opelousas Middle School students

Bobby Ardoin, Special to the Daily World
Published 12:32 p.m. CT Feb. 11, 2020

St. Landry Parish School Superintendent Patrick Jenkins discusses crowding concerns at Opelousas Middle School with school board president Donnie Perron (right).(Photo: Bobby Ardoin/Special to the Daily World)

St. Landry Parish school board members have agreed to move some students from Opelousas Middle School to the former Creswell Elementary School site to resolve crowding issues.

It's not clear how many students will be moved to the former elementary school site, which now serves children attending the Center for Alternative Programs in one area of the campus.

The board last year approved opening Opelousas Middle for the city’s fifth and sixth grade public school students after deciding to close Southwest and North elementary schools. The board also has been considering options to deal with crowding issues at the middle school.

On Monday night, board members unanimously agreed that the Creswell location could serve some of the students.

Other alternatives discussed by board members included reopening either North or Southwest elementary schools, and transferring some Opelousas Middle students to the St. Landry Accelerated Transition Site or Washington Elementary.

Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said Opelousas Middle currently has 592 students.

Those who spoke at Monday night's meeting said the Opelousas Middle campus is too small to effectively educate those attending both regular and special needs classes.

Some speakers complained that there is no place for Opelousas Middle to have school assemblies, students are crowded in hallways in between classes and the cafeteria cannot accommodate the number of students eating lunch.

The board likely will have to consider moving 168 students now attend the alternative school at Creswell to another location.

Alternative school facilitator Randy Pitre, who spoke Monday, said the school features a “unique population” that will have to be addressed with a specially-designed environment when they are relocated.

The alternative campus site now includes students who have been either expelled or suspended. Some students on probation report to the alternative school wearing ankle monitors. Others sometimes report to the school after spending a weekend in jail. Others assigned to the school for disrespecting teachers, fighting or having too many suspensions or other infractions, Pitre said.

“Students we have are now in places that are structured. There is walk-through metal detection and (alternative school students) are housed on one end of (Creswell). You need to make this a true alternative school. Many of the students we have don’t know how to cope at a regular campus," he said.

Board member Hazel Sias said the alternative school that is now at Creswell was never intended to become a permanent site.

Jenkins said he will comply with whatever the board approves to address crowding at Opelousas Middle.